~@ 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 a = ae ana

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CIA Internal Use Only
Access Controlled by DDP

HISTORICAL STAFF
CenTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

THE CLANDESTINE SERVICE HISTORICAL SERIES —

7 OB es? 9 IL eee

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S$ HP 334

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
SOVIET RUSSIA DIVISION
1946-1965

by

| [Feeders Hatvers”) 23

August 1972

— Fad HW Phe
David H. Blee
Chief, SB Division

Votume I

‘Copy No. 1: SB
‘Copy No. 2: O/DDP

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("available to SR/CI/Research on that particular sub-
ject. Some of these studies were sterilized sub-
sequently for passage to a.wider list of recipients «
‘than the sensitivity of the original production
permitted. Some studies were translated and given
to foreign liaison services.* Many of these studies
were the result of suggestions for research topics -
from other SR Division offices, CIA-wide components,
and organizations outside the Cra. |
Throughout the period of this history, SR/-
Reports, in coordination with Chief,SR/CI, had re-
sponsibility for the dissemination of timely general 7
- Cr reports on the RIS. The area division concerned
"disseminated CI reports on the RIS which were clearly |

MS of only local significance.

J. Warren » commission Studies

The President's Commission on the Assassina-
tion of President Kennedy , also known as the Warren >
‘Commission, through its General Counsel, Mr. J. Lee

_ Rankin, frequently called upon the CIA for information

.* Attachment C lists the more important studies
disseminated by SR/CI/Research and its predecessor
organizations.

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in 1964. SR/CI/Research Branch responded to many

of these requests for information working through ©

CI Staff which assumed managerial control for CIA

communications with the commission. the branch
furnished information to the commission on a wide
variety of topics concerning the RIS, Lee Harvey
Oswald, and Oswald's associates in the USSR. *
Ina meeting between CIA representatives and
Messrs. Allen Dulles and Rankin of the Warren Com-
mission on 14 January 1964, Rankin asked that CIA .
draft questions to be included in a letter to the

Soviet Government concerning the Oswald case. The

questions were to be "not too technical," should

be sent soon, and were to be phrased in generalities

in order to allow the Soviets more flexibility than
would a longer, more pointed letter based on con-
crete US Government findings. These questions con-
stituted the first direct involvement of Wigren and
his Research Branch in the commission's work.

The commission wished to account in detail

for all of Oswald's activities outside the United

* See Attachnient D.

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States. Bagley, Chief, SR/CI, subsequently di-
rected Wigren to begin a chronological tabulation
of Oswald's activities in the USSR as collated ©
from various sources, The commission made avail-
able to Wigren documents and reports already ac-
quired from other US Government investigative
agencies. The commission agreed in principle to
honor CIA sensitivity classifications to documents
originated in the Agency for use of the commission.
The Agency's role was limited to written communica-
tions to the commission.” .
By 21 January 1964 Wigren and his colleages
had prepared and transmitted the questions to the
commission for relay to the Soviet Government.
Soviet defector Petr Deryabin had contributed to

this endeavor. The questionnaire had four basic

parts. The first series of questions sought to
Make an assessment of Oswald's mental and physical. —

- condition. The Soviets were requested to furnish —

information on his medical treatment in the USSR
while in the hospital following his suicide at-_
tempt in 1959. as well as any psychological evalua-

tions of him. The second series of questions
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documents if so.

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sought to assess Oswald's. use of and dependence on

_ weapons. He had owned a shotgun in the USSR and

had joined a hunting organization there. The

third series of questions sought to complete Warren
Commission documentation of Oswald's background and
career in the USSR. Those items particularly |
sought were his correspondence with the Soviet Gov-
ernment, Soviet Government documents issued to him
concerning his request. for asylum and permission

to reside in the USSR, documents and registrations
of his residence and employment in the USSR, and
documents concerning his departure from the USSR.
The final question asked whether Oswald had a police
record in the USSR and requested information and

A comprehensive SR/CI/Research paper on the

Oswald case went to the commission on 25 January

1964. This was a detailed chronology of Oswald's
sojourn in the USSR together with an alphabetical
listing of persons in the USSR whom the Oswalds |
knew or mentioned. Identifying information was in-

cluded whenever available. This chronology was in

preliminary formbut the commission urgently required

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collated material to. support the taking of direct
testimony. The source material for the chronology
included personal documents , interviews, and official

and private correspondence. Traces were based on

CIA files and the Moscow and Minsk telephone direc-
tories. “These preliminary name traces were also

sent to the commission on the same day as the chron-. | .-

‘ology. The final version of the name traces based
on a review of the Oswald papers came to over 150

names; the results were furnished to the commission

in late March 1964. a |

SR/CI/Research prepared for the commission at

its request a paper survey of known data on Soviet

use of assassination. This study was intended only
for background information of commission members.
with the caveat that CIA as an organization did not
believe that the Kennedy assassination was a Soviet-
sponsored operation. Much of the material in the
assassination study had been published previously
within the Agency ~~

A fortuitous aspect of the SR/CI/Research

concerning the Oswald case occurred when fiir. Alex-.

‘ander W. Brasko'Jof the branch discovered by accident
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a photograph of Oswald in Graphics Register in

March 1964, Brasko was seeking photographs of

| buildings in Minsk, USSR, where Oswald was resettled |

by the Soviet Government after 1959, Brasko found
a copy of a color transparency which showed in a
casual setting a young man who bore a remarkable
facial resemblance to Oswald and was wearing a
shirt identical in pattern and color to a shirt
- Oswald was wearing in photographs found in his ef-
| fects following the Kennedy assassination. (Figure 1, .
page 77). The photograph was taken by an American |
tourist in Minsk's Central Square in August 1961 at
the Palace of Culture. Copies of the photograph ,
were also furnished to the FBI. The Bureau inter-
viewed the photographer and her companions who could
contribute little to their original statements when
first interviewed by Agency representatives following

their Soviet tour in 1961 (not about Oswald, however,

- whom they did not recall). A-copy of this photograph

was published on page 268 of the Warren Commission's
report. .
Some of the reports prepared by SR/CI/Research

were deemed suitable for publication in the Commission's

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Palace of Culture, Central Square, Minsk, USSR

(Oswald is the young man on the right)

Figure 1.

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report in the public record, either as textual
material or as footnotes. backing up general com=
ments. This required explicit permission from the

DDP, and the rewriting or declassification of some

‘material previously submitted to the commission.

In August 1964 Warren Commission Assistant Counsel
W. David Slawson requested permission to publish

in the commission report some memorandums submitted

'. to the commission by SR/CI/Research via CI Staff.

Since some of the material submitted to the commis-

sion earlier was intended for background use only

or contained operational information, the reports

in question were resubmitted to the commission in

sanitized versions modeled on the originals. The

_ revisions were identified as coming from CIA and

appeared primarily in textual and footnote material

on pages 258 to 280 of the commission's report.*

-

K. National Intellii ence Survey on.
‘USSR Intelligence and Security

‘An important, recurring document written in

* Report of. the President! Ss Commission on the


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Appendix C

Source References*

Survey OF. CE in SR Division, Volume II, by
Robert H. Hicks, CI Staff. Aug 55. TS 110604.

. FY 1955 USSR Operational Plan. TS 91403.

SR Division's Operational Program and Budget
. for the USSR, FY 1956-57. TS 107830.

' Memo, Chief, SR for the DDP, sub: Field Trip
- Report, 3 Oct 55.

. _ Survey of CE in SR Division, by Robert H.
‘| Hicks, CI Staff, Aug 55. TS 110604.

1958 Inspection and Review Staff review of
.SR Division: "The Role of SR Division,
' 23 Dec 58. TS 153028.

Memo, I&R Staff for the DDP, sub: Inspection
of SR/CE Staff, 22 Dec 58. TS 153026.

SR Division Opérational Program, FY 1961,
‘pp 16 ff. 22 Mar 60, TS 175603.

| | SR Division Notice No. 450, 17 Aug 61. See

is: also CSHP 76, pp 57-64, for a more detailed
-l:! @iscussion of the 1961 functional reorganiza-
tion, and a list of the members of the

10.““Memo o of Conversation, 16 Jan 64; sub: CIA
‘Work in Support of the Warren Commission;
by Tennant H. Bagley.

ll.  XAAZ~22407, 21 Jan 64, sub: Questions to be
. submitted to the Soviet Government, filed
in 201-288248 (Lee Harvey Oswald).

* Unless otherwise indicated, all source references
may be considered classified SECRET.
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Yp/

oh Special _Group_ wh which proposed. Aten ne

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12.

13.

XAAZ-22414, 28 Feb 64; sub: Soviet Use of

in Minsk, — 203-289248. |

)/RID- AEPAGAN file 74-6-67/1, Archives Job
‘\| No. 64-619/32.

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XAAZ-22409, 25 Jan 64, sub: The Oswald
Chronology, filed in 201~-289248.

XAAZ-22410, 25 Jan 64, sub: Name List with
Traces, and XAAZ-22416, 26 Mar 64; sub:
Name List with Traces, 201-289248.
Assassination and Kidnapping, 201-289248.

XAAZ-22420, 29 Apr 64, sub: Photo of OSWALD

| 201-91182 (Irma Jung); SB/CI/P Archives

DA file-Germany.

. ' 201-96494 (Anatoliy Nikolayevich Krushin) ;
|, SB/CI/P Archives DA File-Germany.

iy 201-46344 (Gennadiy Kotorovich); RID File

74-6-67/25, Archives Job. No. 65-117/79;

‘| SB/CL/P Archives DA File-Germany.

- 201-89924 (Willi von Hohenegg); SB/CI/P

Archives DA File-Germany.

; -201- 286975 (Guenther Faltlhans1) ; ‘SB/CI/P
j Archives DA File-Austria. -

201-231917 (Calvin Floyd); SB/CL/P Archives

DA File-Sweden.

- 201-313667 (Olafur Eggertson Briem) SB/CI/P
Archives DA File- Iceland.

201- 248427 (Guenther Schulz) ; SB/CI/P

|. Archives DA File- -Germany |

201-314343 (Carlo Gulino); also RID 48-6-28; |_|

SB/CI/P | Archives DA. . File- Libya

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ATTACHMENT D

SR/CI/RESEARCH ITEMS
FOR WARREN COMMISSION

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" ~ 4. 21: Jan. 1984 Questions to bo cubnittead ta tho Soviet Government.
y - 2. 22 Jen. 1964  Questionsixva for Karina OSWALD.
ay 3. 25 Jon. 2964 . Tho “OSWALD Chronology".
t . & «6°25 Jan. 1964 Noma lint with traces (preliminary varcion).
. Se 5 Fab. 1964 Bicgraphie tuformation ca Ura. OSWALD ead her relatives.
. ll eS Bebe. 1964 Letter explaining cppendtx daafgnarione.
HE Fe) B Veb, 1964. Lotter ragardéing OSWALD'o weapon dn tho USSR.
: . » 8. 28 Feb. 1964  ~ Soviet uso of sgsassfastion and kidnapping.
-- Qe 28 Feb. 1964 Soviet prasz rzécticn to tha asaasaination of President
~ : Tt , Kennedy.
- Ho .) 10.) 26 Mar. 1964 Nese list with traces.
"8 , 41. 6 Apr. 1964 ‘Rasponse to "Covtaia Questions Poacd by tha ‘Beate
eo 4 . _ Dapartncat Plica".
_ 4 aa. 23 ape. 1984 — Adddtdons to tha Chronology of OSWALD in the USSR.
- «43. 24 Apw. 1964 = Lydia DINVTNCX.
_ 14, 29 Ape. 1964 ’ Photo of OSWALD in Ninok.
 § " 45. 6 Hay 1964 Contacto bstwoca tha GSWALDs and Soviet citicens,

—_ 13 Juna 1962 t4 22 Novamwber 1963.
-. 16. 8 May 1964 Marina OSWALD'o notabsok.
- 1%.. 3 Jua. 1964 Docuneate on Les Karvey OSWALD furniched by the

ar
t Soviet Governzcat.
218. 5 Jun. 1964 Allegations regarding Tatelligenca Training School
ety . _ dn Minck, U552.
7 qo 19. 22 Jul. 1964 Apparent inecnginteactas in materiel furnished tho

. ; ; Conunisaion by CLA cud tha Department of State,

20. 24 Jul. 2964 Yehkatorina VUNTEEVA.

22. 32 Sud. 1964 Langth of tina requirad for obteinicg Soviet Tourist

Visas in Ealoiak? ond Stockholm, 1964
22. «7 Auge 1984 Soviet hunting eockotics..

23. 26 Acg. 3964 Konstantin Patrovich SERCRIVSKY. : :
24. 9 Sopt.1964 KGB footnote. So i
25. 20 Sope.1964 KGB Handting of Forotgnora ta the USSR, /

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26. 10 Sept. 1964 Acquaintances of the OSWALDs in Minak.
~m 27.. 10 Sopt. 1964 - Financial afd for foroignara in the USSR. .
eb 28. 10 Sept. 1964 Sacrot training locations end procedures in the USSR,
- 29. 10 Sapt. 1954 Rates of cospencation in tho U6SR. _
_ 30. 10 Sept. 1964 Emigration and travel of Sovict aationals.

ae foo 31. 11 Sepe. 1964 Geographic-descriptive data on Minak. -.
a 32. 12 Sept. 1964 Certain questions posad by State Department files.

; . 33. 22 Spt. 1964  Sovict hunting societics. -
a { 34s 11 Sept. 1964 . Length of tine required for obtaining Soviet Touriec
> — _. Visas in Westorn Burope in 1964.
35. 168 Sapt. 1964 Identification of persons sppoaring in FRI photo D 33-46.
yo 36. 18 Sape.. 1964. - Passport: and Viea offica.
a! 37. 18 Sapt. 1964 Rasettlement of US defectore in the USSR. .
- 38. 18 Sept.. 1964 - taturist botele. fa Moacow. -


